


An Unnecessary Secret

by writingstufff1



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Jeronica, Veggie, Vughead, minor varchie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-09-22 22:43:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17068562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingstufff1/pseuds/writingstufff1
Summary: Jughead Jones finds Veronica crying in Pop's one night and an unlikely friendship is formed.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is just the beginning of the fic and the first chapter should be out in about two weeks! This is also my first Jeronica fic so be kind!

Jughead Jones hadn't expected to be walking around Riverdale at two o' clock in the morning but he tried not to expect much from the town that is Riverdale. When Alice and his father had returned home from their date clearly intoxicated, Jughead had made his escape, claiming he needed a break from writing. He took his bag and his laptop with him nonetheless. It was cold out considering it was summer and he rubbed his hands together. It was then he got the bright idea to go to Pop’s as it would still be open and Pop didn’t mind him staying there late if he was working on his novel.

 

He pushed open the door to the empty diner. Pop was nowhere to be seen but Jughead could hear someone in the back of the diner. He hopped over the counter and took a tentative step towards the office. There was the muffled sound of crying. He reached out towards the handle but caught himself and instead decided to speak.

 

“Hello. I don’t mean to intrude but um are you okay back there?” he called out.

 

There was silence for a few seconds and then lots of moving and a frazzled looking Veronica opened the door. “Jughead, hi. What are you doing here?”

 

“Veronica are you okay?” he asked quietly.

 

“I eh yes I’m fine. Did you want some food or something?” she pushed past him.

 

Jughead just stared after her, baffled before following behind her. “Yeah, I guess I’ll take a milkshake,” he told her. She smiled widely at him and busied herself with the milkshake machine. Jughead leaned against the counter beside her, trying to think of something to say.

 

“Did something happen?” he asked hesitantly.

 

Veronica opened her mouth to respond but her glass slipped and milkshake spilled out onto the counter. “Fuck!” she shouted and put her head in her hands.

 

“Hey, hey you’re okay” he whispered softly.

 

“I just don’t understand why nothing is going right” she sobbed.

 

Jughead took her hands away from her face. “You’re doing your best Veronica there is nothing else you can do,” he told her.

 

To his surprise, she threw her arms around him and leaned into his shoulder. Jughead stood there frozen while she cried. He was unsure of what to do for the first time in his life. He settled on trying to be there for her in the way Betty or any of her friends would be and let her stay there. It’s not that they weren’t friends it’s just that they hadn’t exactly seen eye to eye on everything in the past. Jughead had decided not to make an effort with her anymore after he had fought with her father during the school year. Betty had told him to keep an eye out for her while she was at her internship but Jughead wasn’t inclined to do anything for Betty after the unexpected breakup.

 

“God Jughead I didn’t mean to do that, Veronica said laughing slightly.

 

“It’s no big deal Veronica,” he assured her. “I just came here to watch a terrible movie and to bitch about my Dad and Alice’s relationship to Pop”

 

“Wow do you come here late a lot then?” she asked stepping back from him slightly.

 

“I mean I guess so,” he said rubbing the back of his head. “The trailer isn’t that big you know”

 

She just laughed and moved to clean up the milkshake mess. Jughead put a hand over hers.

“Let me do that,” he said looking down at her. “You can go sit down with my laptop and pick a movie”

 

She smiled gratefully and went to sit down. Jughead cleaned the mess up and made himself and Veronica a new milkshake. He brought it over and set it down in front of her. Veronica looked up at him in surprise.

 

“Chocolate with a cherry on top, your favourite,” he announced.

 

“Wow Jones I had no idea you knew my milkshake order”

 

“Yeah me either” he replied laughing. “Now what godawful film are you going to subject me to?”

 

“You’re right to be scared,” she said smirking. “It’s legally blonde, I wanted something familiar”

 

Jughead groaned loudly but sat himself down and took off his jacket. The film wasn’t all bad and Veronica seemed to enjoy it. She was very focused on the movie and didn’t even notice Jughead’s sharp intake of breath when she leaned her head against his shoulder halfway through. He smiled and focused his attention back on the movie.

 

When the film finally finished they were both tired and yawning. Jughead stretched and put his jacket back on. He turned off his laptop and put it back in his bag.

 

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” he asked after a minute of silence.

 

Do you even care Jughead” she whispered.

 

“Yeah of course I do. You’re my best friends girlfriend” he said.

 

“So we’re not even friends are we?” she said coldly. “And it’s was”

 

“What does that mean” Jughead demanded.

 

“Was as in past tense, as in we’re not together anymore” she retorted.

 

Jughead was silent for a minute. “I didn’t know you two broke up”

 

“Yeah well nobody does, it only happened today” she explained.

 

Jughead didn’t know what to say. He considered hugging her again but figured that would be weird as they weren’t exactly the hugging kind of friends. He figured she didn’t exactly want another hug from him either.

 

“Listen, Veronica-” he started.

 

“Don’t worry about it Jughead” she interrupted him shaking her head. “Hey, at least you and Betty are still together eh? I’ve got something to root for”

 

Jughead contemplated telling her, him and Betty weren’t together anymore but decided she looked happy and if Betty hadn’t told her then it wasn’t up to him. He settled for nodding in agreement instead. She smiled at him and stood up looking her usual self again.

 

“Well unless you want something else to eat I’m going to start locking up” she announced disappearing into the back of the diner.

 

Jughead took that as his cue to leave and grabbed all of his belongings. He was halfway home before he realised that he had forgotten to pay Veronica for his milkshake. He resolved to find her tomorrow and pay. After the strangest night of his life, he arrived home to find Alice’s car gone. Breathing a sigh of relief he entered the trailer. After deciding he wasn’t tired enough to go to bed he decided to work on a new chapter of his novel.

 

_It was a Tuesday night when he saw the raven-haired princess properly for the first time…_


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica, much to his surprise, invites Jughead to a party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! I actually got this done a lot quicker than I thought I would so I decided to do some extra editing. This fic is also on Tumblr if anyone wants to read it there. Any advice would be appreciated as usual! Enjoy xx

Jughead was late. He had promised he would meet Toni at Pop’s to look at her latest photography project. His alarm, unfortunately, had not gone off. The reason it had not gone off was that he had been too distracted by Veronica and had forgotten to set it. He cursed inwardly as he scrambled around the trailer trying to find a clean shirt. Toni was going to kill him. He was literally going to be murdered. He grabbed his laptop bag and left the trailer with his shoelaces still untied.

“Well Jones, I was starting to think you had forgotten,” Toni said teasingly.

  
“I’m so sorry Toni, my alarm didn’t go off this morning”

  
“Don’t worry about it, just have a look at these,” she told him, handing him a folder. “Thanks for helping me with this, by the way, Jones”

  
“It’s no problem at all T,” he said, taking the folder from her. “Besides, I always enjoy looking at your work. Even if it’s 90% photos of Cheryl”

  
“Shut up” she laughed.

Jughead pored over the folder for at least two milkshakes worth of time. He had comments for every photo and by the end, Toni was looking bored.

  
“You know what Jughead, I actually have to meet up with Cheryl. Maybe you can keep it for a while and just email me your thoughts?” she asked.

  
“Yeah, for sure Toni, I’m really impressed so far though”

  
“Thanks, Jughead”

  
She stood up to leave. “You should really talk to Veronica, she’s been staring over here for the last half hour” she added after a few seconds.

  
He looked up in surprise to see Veronica quickly look away. Shaking his head, he continued to leaf through the folder. There were hundreds of photos. He wondered how long it had taken Toni to put the project together. No doubt it had been in the works at least a few months. He reminded himself to ask her to put forward a few of the photos for the Blue and Gold. He spent the next hour typing out his comments before deciding to take a break. The second he closed the lid of his laptop Veronica appeared in the seat opposite him. 

  
“Jughead, I need to talk to you”

  
Jughead nodded and put his laptop back in his bag. “Sure, what’s up?”

  
“I just wanted to thank you for checking on me last night,” she said.

  
“Yeah, no problem, anytime”

  
“I also wanted to invite you to the party Reggie is having tonight”

  
Jughead was shocked. This was an unexpected turn of events. Not that he hadn’t been to parties before, he was long past his phase of having no friends. Plus, he was a part of the Serpents now and parties were practically in the job description. No, it wasn’t that, it was the fact that Veronica Lodge was personally inviting him.

  
“Oh, there’s no need for that”

  
“Nonsense, it’ll be fun” she assured him.

  
“Are you sure Reggie is okay with that?” he asked, hesitantly.

  
“Yes, absolutely. So, come pick me up at nine o’ clock at the Pembroke”

  
Jughead watched her walk away in disbelief. He wondered what on earth he had gotten himself into when he had decided that he should be nice to Veronica. 

* * *

Jughead found himself overthinking an outfit for the first time in his life. He wasn’t sure how laidback the party was going to be and considering he was going with Veronica he supposed he should wear something fancier than usual. He was stuck between a white shirt that made him look like he was going to a dance and a black shirt that made him look like a waiter. A knock on his door made him spill his drink on the white shirt. Waiter it is. FP opened the door and Jughead whirled around. 

  
“What do you want?” he snapped.

  
“Nothing Jug, I was just wondering why you were talking to yourself”

  
“Sorry Dad, I’m a little stressed about this party”

  
FP chuckled and put his hands on Jughead’s shoulders. “Well you look great, have a good time”

* * *

Jughead had been waiting for fifteen minutes outside the Pembroke before Veronica made her way down. The doorman had looked at him like he was crazy when he had told him he was there for Veronica. He had kept Jughead waiting a few minutes while he spoke with Hermione about the party. Jughead decided to go wait at his bike. Veronica eventually opened the door and came outside. She was wearing a red dress that Jughead had never seen her in before. He didn’t know how he knew that.

  
“Well Jones, are we ready to go?”

  
“For sure, Lodge,” he said, pushing off his bike.

  
“Lord, I hope you do not expect me to get on that death contraption”

  
“Veronica, that is exactly what I expect you to do,” he said, handing her a helmet.

  
Veronica sighed and put on the helmet. “This better not ruin my hair”

  
Jughead laughed and got on the bike. Veronica sat behind him, she hesitated to put her hands around his waist. Jughead just put her hands around him. It only took them a few minutes to get to there but Veronica seemed to enjoy being on the bike. She tightened her grip around his waist and screamed in excitement.  
When they finally arrived at the party, Veronica took Jughead’s hand to lead him to the drinks. She handed him a cup of beer and laughed when he was surprised that she poured one for herself as well.

  
“What? Didn’t take me as a beer girl?”

  
“No, I guess I thought you were fancier than beer from a keg at a Reggie Mantle party, Lodge”

  
“Well, Jughead, you should know by now that I am full of surprises,” she said, grabbing his hand again to lead him around the party.

  
“That you are,” he murmured as he followed her.

  
They joined a game of beer pong at Reggie’s insistence. Jughead and Veronica were playing against Reggie and Midge. Jughead discovered he was actually pretty good at the game considering he had never played before. He tried to ignore the obviously flirty vibes between Veronica and Reggie and instead concentrated on beating him. Or winning the game. Midge caught his eye after another flirty comment from Reggie and rolled her eyes. Jughead returned the gesture but felt as though he was betraying Veronica by doing so. Jughead won another cup and he and Veronica celebrated by hugging excitedly. 

  
“Whatever, everyone knows you are way too good for this freak anyway, 

Veronica,” Reggie scoffed before turning and leaving the room.

  
“What the hell was that about?” Veronica asked, confused.

  
“I have no idea,” Jughead responded, equally puzzled.

  
“You know what, it’s late I should probably get home. Jughead can you give me a lift?”

  
Jughead nodded and they made their way out of the party. There were no complaints from Veronica to his surprise as she put on her helmet and got on the back of the bike again. They were almost halfway to Veronica’s when Jughead decided to make a quick detour.

  
“Wait, Jughead, where are you going?” Veronica demanded in his ear.

  
“Pop’s, I mean you are the owner and I could really do with a milkshake after the weirdness of that party”

  
Veronica laughed, and he could feel her breath on the back of his neck. He parked the bike and after taking the helmet from her, they went inside. She started to go behind the counter but Jughead grabbed her arm to stop her.

  
“I’ve got this. I used to work here you know and I can handle a milkshake and some fries”

  
“Thanks, Jug, it’ll be nice to have someone cooking for me for once”

  
“No problem. I think it’s better this way considering the last time you made me a milkshake there was a bit of a disaster,” he teased.

  
“Jughead!” she exclaimed, hitting him lightly in the arm.

  
He held up his hands in mock defeat and backed away. Veronica laughed at his surrender. She settled into one of the booths and put her feet up. Jughead set about making the fries first and once they were cooking he made the milkshakes. He set one down in front of Veronica and made himself comfortable. He looked at her lying there with her eyes closed.

  
“Whatchya thinking about Lodge?”

  
“Betty actually”

  
Jughead swallowed hard and kept his face neutral. “Why’s that?”

  
She opened her eyes and sat up quickly. “I have an idea! We should go visit Betty in New York”

  
She looked excited as she waited for a reply. Jughead couldn’t say no to her. 

“Well, I can’t think of a single reason why not,” Jughead said, smiling although it felt more like a wince. 

  
“Yes, this is going to be so great, we can do it like a road trip in August. It’ll be so nice for us to visit Betty, and I need to do some shopping so you two can get some alone time,” she said, winking. 

  
“Yeah, sure, whatever makes you happy,” Jughead answered, standing up. “Listen I’m going to check on the fries”

  
Veronica spent the rest of the time in the diner scheming and making plans for the road trip. Jughead sat in silence, eating. He tried to pretend he was excited but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He supposed he was going to have to tell her about the breakup eventually but there was a light in her eyes that he hadn’t seen even in the last few months of her relationship with Archie. He figured he would reveal it when she was sufficiently distracted by some other project. So, he just smiled and nodded at the appropriate places.

  
The ride home was quiet as both of them were tired and Veronica was still a little tipsy. She was leaning her head against his shoulder. Jughead felt weird. First, she invites him to a party, then on a road trip and now she’s leaning on his shoulder as he drops her home. He had not expected his summer to go like this. They had never been the touchy sort of friends. Or even friends period. He shook it off the feeling as the bike came around Veronica’s street corner. 

  
“Well I’m glad you got home safe,” Jughead said, helping her get off the bike.

  
“Thanks for the lift Jug” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck.

  
Jughead almost stepped back in shock. He hadn’t been expecting a hug. His arms instinctively encircled her. 

  
“No problem, Lodge. See you tomorrow”

  
Veronica practically skipped up the steps to the building. She waggled her fingers at him before disappearing inside. Jughead shook his head at her antics and made his way home. 

* * *

Veronica awoke the next day with a pounding headache. She groaned and tried to roll over but the other side of the room was where she had left the blinds open mistakenly last night. She started to get up to close them when her phone started ringing. The noise was deafening and she had no idea where she had left her phone. She practically fell out of the bed and threw her clothes around the room looking for it. After successfully locating under her dress from the previous night, she answered it to turn off the noise. She made a noise that sounded more like a groan than a greeting. 

  
“Wow, that bad is it?” a voice laughed on the other side of the phone.

  
“Jughead, what in god’s name do you want at this time in the morning” Veronica snapped, unimpressed with his amusement.

  
“Well actually, it’s nearly noon and you wanted to meet to discuss the road trip this morning”

  
Veronica cursed and leaned her head back, rubbing at her temples. She was in no state to make any plans.

  
“Oh shit, sorry I forgot about that”

  
There was a silence while she considered whether it was worth it to meet with him. Catching a look at herself in the mirror she decided there wasn’t a chance in hell.

  
“Can I cancel for today, I can barely open my eyes,” she told him apologetically. 

  
“Yeah for sure, see you soon Lodge”

  
Veronica ended the call and put her head in her hands. There was only one solution to this, shopping. Veronica took a pill and feeling a lot better, applied her makeup as immaculately as usual and curled her hair. Looking in the mirror one would never know that she had an awful hangover. She ignored her father calling after her as she left the house and elected to get breakfast out.   
After a few hours of retail therapy, she was feeling ten times better. She had almost finished her shopping when someone crashed into her and caused her to drop all of her bags. 

  
“You moron! What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded, starting to pick up her bags.

  
“What do you mean what’s wrong with me-”

  
“Reggie?” Veronica cut him off.

  
“Oh, hey V, sorry about that,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

  
Veronica just laughed. “So, what’s up?”

  
“Oh, nothing much. Actually, Ronnie, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something”

  
“Yeah, go for it”

  
“Would you be interested in going out sometime? You know for food or something?”

  
“Yeah, I’d actually really like that Reg,” she said, tapping his shoulder.

  
Reggie smiled. “Great”

  
“I have to go unfortunately but text me the details” she called over her shoulder.

  
Before going to bed she called Jughead to tell him what had happened. She wasn’t sure why her first instinct was to call him but decided not to dwell on it. He answered after the second ring.

  
“Veronica, hi. Didn’t expect two calls in one day”

  
She laughed. “Yeah, well I have some exciting news”

  
“Pray tell”

  
“Reggie asked me out today,” she exclaimed excitedly.

  
There was silence for a few seconds. “Jughead? Are you there?”

  
“Yeah, that’s great Veronica.” He paused. “You know, I’m kinda swamped here but good luck with that”

  
Veronica grinned. “That’s okay. See you soon Jug”

  
The call ended abruptly. Veronica frowned and put her phone down. The call must’ve been cut off. She decided to text Reggie asking about the plans. Once they were solidified she lay down to go to sleep. She surprisingly wasn’t as excited about her date as she thought she would be. She assumed it was because she wasn’t entirely over Archie. 

  
“Well, maybe Reggie can help me with that,” she thought before drifting off to sleep. 

* * *

When Reggie picked her up in his Dad’s car Veronica was excited. It felt different from getting picked up by Jughead on his bike. She had carefully selected an outfit that she knew Reggie would approve of and when his eyes raked over her body as he opened the door, she knew she had made a good choice. The dinner was expensive and Veronica didn’t order anything more than a salad as she wanted to impress Reggie. She had fun, although, Reggie wasn’t as funny as she’d remembered. 

  
“I enjoyed tonight, V,” he remarked as he dropped her off.

  
She smiled up at him. “Yeah me too, Reg”

  
He stepped closer to her. “We should do it again sometime”

  
“Yeah, maybe,” she heard herself replying although she felt uncertain.

  
He leaned in closer and moved to kiss her but Veronica moved her head so that he kissed her cheek. She put it down to nerves that she didn’t want him to kiss her. He smiled and moved back respectfully.

  
“Goodnight, Reg,” she said, softly before turning and entering her building. 

* * *

 

Veronica tapped her fingers lightly against the counter of the diner. The place was almost entirely empty other than a few bulldogs and a mother with her baby. She was tired and bored but she had to wait to tell Jughead the good news. She looked at her watch again. Jughead was not following his regular schedule. It had been two days since she had last seen him in the last booth at Pops. He had ordered fries from Pop instead of her so they didn’t really get a chance to talk other than a hello from Veronica which he acknowledged with a grunt. Her date with Reggie the previous night had been fun and she was excited to tell Jughead about it. Cheryl and Toni had already heard all about it and Betty wasn’t returning her calls but she still wanted to talk about it more. The bell at the door rang and Veronica looked up from her hands to see the brooding boy she was looking for.

  
“Jughead! Thank God, I’ve been waiting for you all day”

  
“Veronica,” Jughead said, startled. “I thought you would’ve been gone by now”

  
“Wait, what? Jughead are you avoiding me or something?”

  
“Or something”

  
“Is this because I blew you off the other day when I had a hangover?” Veronica demanded, making her way around the counter to stand in front of him.

  
“I just assumed the road trip and everything was off since Reggie is your latest distraction”

  
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  
“I don’t know, I just thought-” he started.

  
“Yeah well don’t. Besides, I’m pretty sure Reggie doesn’t want anything more than a fling”

  
Veronica wasn’t sure why she said that but it came tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

  
“Right, well fine I guess it’s back on then,” Jughead said trying not to show his relief but he couldn’t help the smile that crept up on his face.

  
Veronica clapped her hands excitedly. “Excellent. Now I assume you want some food”

  
Jughead nodded and she set about making food in the kitchen. She came back out and handed Jughead a glass of water before returning to the kitchen.

  
“So, tell me, how is Betty?” she called out.

  
Jughead nearly choked on his water. “Have you not been talking to her?” he sputtered.

  
“No, not really. She told me she was trying to concentrate on her internship,” she paused, narrowing her eyes. “She’s obviously still talking to her boyfriend, right?”

  
Jughead considered telling her the truth then and there but he was actually starting to look forward to the road trip and wanted to delay the inevitable. “Yeah, of course, we talk most days.” He did not meet Veronica’s eyeline.

  
Veronica moved on then and started to talk about all the plans she had for the road trip. It turned out she had a lot of opinions on what snacks were appropriate for a road trip. Jughead gladly engaged in a conversation about food as he would most days. He left soon after that to go check on his Dad in the White Wyrm, leaving Veronica to lock up.

  
Veronica felt as though something was off after their conversation. She couldn’t quite put a finger on how she knew Jughead was hiding something, she just knew that he was acting strangely. Veronica Lodge wasn’t the kind of person to let something like this go and vowed to get to the bottom of the mystery.


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! This has been my favourite chapter to write so far and I am really liking how the story is coming along! As usual, this fic will be on tumblr as well. Hope you all enjoy!!

Fangs had gotten way too drunk as usual and since Sweet Pea had left with some girl and Toni was working, Jughead was left to walk him home. Jughead had just wanted to play pool and then come home early to get some writing done but typically, things did not go his way. Fangs had a tendency to wander off in his current state and so Jughead had to make sure that he got back to his trailer in one piece. Conveniently, Fang’s trailer was located adjacent to Jughead’s and he had just started to get him up the steps when Fangs started talking.

“God, Fangs can you just shut up for two minutes while I get you inside,” Jughead said irritated.

Fangs shook his head and pointed behind Jughead. “Veronica, hi it's Fangs.”

Jughead turned around with his mouth wide open. She laughed and started walking in their direction.

“Have a bit too much to drink, did we Fangs?”

“No, you did,” he replied before promptly falling down the steps Jughead had just hauled him up.

Jughead picked him and put his arm around his shoulder. “Okay, big man let’s get you inside.”

He settled Fangs on the couch and put a glass of water on the table.  Fangs immediately started snoring. Jughead rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. He could hear Veronica laughing at the pair of them outside. He wondered why she was at his trailer and joined her outside.

“So, Veronica, not to be rude but, why are you here?”

“It’s movie night!” she exclaimed, holding up popcorn and some snacks.

“It’s what now?”

“Movie night! I actually called you a few times but I guess your phone is off,” she said, taking her phone out of her pocket.

He shrugged. “Yeah, I was at the Wyrm.”

“I thought as much.” She laughed.

He hadn’t made any movement in her direction and she shook her head.

“God Jughead, don’t look so shocked, we’re just hanging out.”

She laughed and walked to his door. “Are you not gonna let me in?”

Jughead moved past her and opened the door. She immediately swept in, surveying the area. He cringed inwardly. He had forgotten that Veronica was a Lodge for a second. He braced himself for the inevitable comment on how small it was.

“Can’t believe I’ve never been here before,” she said settling herself on the couch. “I mean we’ve been friends what? Two years and I’ve never been in your house, that’s a bit weird.”

Jughead managed a nod as a response. He got a bowl for the popcorn and handed Veronica his laptop. He sat at the other side of the couch and wiped his palms on his knees. Veronica rolled her eyes and moved to sit beside him.

“Don’t be ridiculous, how the hell are you going to see from there?”

She put the laptop on the table and indicated that it was his choice. He settled on a thriller that he had seen before but that he reckoned Veronica would enjoy. She swung her legs up on the couch and rested her head on his shoulder. Halfway through the film, he decided to ask the question he had been thinking about since he saw her waiting on his doorstep.

“Didn’t you have a date tonight?”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh yeah, I cancelled.”

He raised his eyebrows questioningly. “For movie night with me?”

“Sure, Jug. I’m not even sure I like Reggie that much.”

He frowned, confused. He had spent the week leading up to her date with Reggie hearing about how great Reggie was. Oh, Reggie thinks he can go to college on a football scholarship. Oh, you know, Reggie is actually really smart. Jughead had scoffed at the time and Veronica had smacked him with her purse. He considered asking Veronica why she had cancelled on her date, but the moment had passed and Veronica had focused her attention back on the film.

After another twenty minutes of the film, Veronica had fallen asleep. Jughead could hear her breathing softly. It wasn’t too late so he figured he could leave her there for a few minutes before dropping her home. He closed his laptop and draped a blanket over her. He had just finished washing the dishes when he heard FP’s keys in the lock. FP opened the door and upon spotting Jughead, opened his mouth to speak. Jughead immediately shushed him, gesturing towards Veronica.

“Sorry Dad, she just showed up.”

“No worries pal, I just forgot my wallet,” FP whispered, looking at him suspiciously.

Jughead averted eye contact, choosing instead to look for the wallet. He found underneath the newspaper on the kitchen table and handed it to FP without looking at him. FP put a hand on his shoulder and Jughead turned around to face him.

“Is there something going on between you and the Lodge girl?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jughead replied, shaking his head at the thought.

Veronica stirred and sat up. “Hey FP. How are you?”

“I’m good Veronica, it’s nice to see you,” he said, laughing as he left the trailer.

She yawned widely and stretched. “God, what time is it? I wasn’t asleep for too long, was I?”

“Nah, you were only asleep for about fifteen minutes.”

“I should probably get home though.”

Jughead nodded. “Yeah, I’ll drop you.”

Veronica put on her jacket and Jughead noticed she was wearing jeans instead of her usual skirt and top ensemble. Jughead handed her the helmet she usually used. They got on the bike and settled into their usual position. It felt almost natural to the pair. It was quite dark by now and the streets were almost empty considering it was the middle of summer. When they reached the Pembroke, Veronica got off the bike and handed him back the helmet. After a moment of consideration, Jughead gave it back to her.

“Keep it.”

“Keep it? Why?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

He blushed. “I mean you have been using it a lot, it would just be more convenient.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Convenient… right.”

Jughead shrugged. “Whatever.”

She rolled her eyes and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow Jug.”

He grinned at her and she went inside. He got on the bike and went home. Later that night when FP came home Jughead avoided all questions explaining that he had a lot of writing to catch up. FP laughed at his feeble attempt at distraction. Jughead went to bed and dreamed of a girl with dark hair. 

* * *

 

Veronica was working the next day when Jughead arrived at around lunchtime. She came running out of the kitchen to see him. She ran into him and hugged him, almost knocking him off his feet.

“Wow Veronica, hey.”

“So, new plan: we are going clubbing tonight with Fangs, Sweet Pea, Cheryl and Toni,” she told him as she stepped back.

“Yeah, okay,” he replied, nodding his head.

“I think it’ll be super fun and we don’t have to stay long if-” she paused. “Wait did you just say yes?”

“Yeah, I mean why not?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

“Oh my God, this is so great!” she screeched, practically leaping on him. “I will see you tonight!”

She disappeared into the kitchen again and Jughead was left with his thoughts. He sat down and ordered fries from Pop. Jughead took his laptop out and started working on his novel. He didn’t get much work done but found himself thinking about the night out. It should be fun, right? I mean it might be a little weird hanging out with Veronica with other people there, but it probably won’t be too bad. At least that’s what he hoped.

After Veronica had left to get ready and had kissed him on the cheek he decided to stay and do a little more work. He had just about finished another chapter when Archie walked in, with Josie trailing not so far behind him. Jughead looked on in disbelief as they sat down together. He supposed that he better go over and say hello. He put his stuff away and stood up to walk over. From this angle, he could see Archie’s hand on Josie’s leg. He couldn’t believe that Archie was doing this to Veronica. There was no way he was going over to him now. Instead, he left the diner, ignoring Archie calling after him. There was no way that was Jughead’s old best friend. He didn’t recognise the Archie he saw in there. There was nothing to do but look forward to the night ahead.

* * *

 

The boys had decided to arrive early to start the night off right. They were currently sitting at the bar of the nightclub where Jughead was restraining from rolling his eyes at the bullshit story Sweet Pea was spouting. They had gotten in using fake ids Fangs had gotten them and Jughead was surprised that the bouncer hadn’t asked too many questions. Although looking back on it, Sweet Pea was a pretty intimidating person to most people so that was probably why. They were two drinks in and Sweet Pea was already getting loud. Jughead ordered another beer and zoned back in to pay attention to Fang’s story about some joke he had made in biology that a girl had laughed at. He was just taking another sip of the beer when the girls walked in. He almost choked on his drink. Veronica was wearing a black, velvet, bodycon dress which clung to her in all the right places.

“Jesus Jughead, pick your jaw up off the floor,” Fangs said, swinging around in his chair to greet the girls.

“Yeah keep yourself together, man or she’ll notice,” Sweet Pea laughed, clapping Jughead on the back.

“Shut up, its whatever.”

He turned back to his drink. The girls came over, interrupting his peace. Cheryl announced that they were doing shots and bought them all two shot glasses of Sambuca each. Jughead hesitated to drink his shot but when Veronica smiled at him and clinked her glass against his, he threw it back without registering the taste.

“So, Jug how did the writing go today?” Veronica asked.

Jughead blushed. “Actually, pretty well, thanks for asking.”

“Am I ever going to be allowed to read this novel?” She said, leaning closer to him.

Jughead moved forward to whisper in her ear. “If I showed you I’d have to kill you.”

She tipped her head back with laughter and sat forward in her stool to peer at the back of the club.

“If I’m not mistaken, that is a free booth,” she told him.

She gave him a mischievous smile before making her way through the crowd with Cheryl and Toni in tow. Sweet Pea and Jughead followed behind them, but Fangs was nowhere to be seen.

“I see we’ve lost a serpent,” Cheryl said as they all sat down.

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes. “I saw him go off with some college guy at the bar.”

Surprisingly, Jughead found himself having fun. It was always interesting to see Sweet Pea drunkenly ranting about how awful Reggie was and to see Cheryl and Toni’s not so subtle under the table flirting. And Veronica. He was really enjoying talking with Veronica. They had been talking about the most recent time Veronica had gotten caught sneaking out when he realised that Sweet Pea had never come back with their drinks. He was hypnotised by how animated Veronica was as she told them all how she had been clambering down the drainpipe. Jughead figured Sweet Pea’s safety was probably higher on the priority list so he made his excuses and went in search of him at the bar. The barman asked for his order and Jughead shook his head.

“No, thanks. I’m actually looking for my friend. Tall, dark hair, neck tattoo?”

The barman jerked his head in the direction of the door. “Think he’s gone outside, Liv’s on her break.”

“Great, thanks.” Jughead slapped his hands on the counter and started to make his way over.

“Oh, I wouldn’t go out there, pal. They were flirting pretty hard when I last saw them.”

Jughead shuddered. So, that was a lost cause. He thanked the barman and made his way back to the booth. Cheryl was on Toni’s lap as they both pretended to listen to Veronica. It was clear they just wanted to be alone so Jughead invited Veronica to go outside with him. She agreed, looking visibly relieved. He took her hand and lead her through the throngs of people. They got to the outside balcony where it was quieter and more relaxed. There was softer music playing and many people were just sitting talking. Jughead went to the edge of the balcony and lit up a cigarette.

“I didn’t know you smoked?”

“Well, being in the serpents is a pretty stressful job.”

“Does Betty know you smoke?” she asked, raising her eyebrows teasingly.

“Betty doesn’t know everything,” he said wincing.

“Hit a soft spot, have I?”

“Yeah, something like that,” he muttered.

Veronica just laughed. Jughead watched as she leaned out over the balcony.

“It’s so wild, you can see all of Greendale from here,” she remarked.

“Yeah, I suppose.”

Veronica grabbed his shoulder and pointed. “Look, there’s Pop’s!”

He nodded, barely registering the scene. He grabbed hold of her to steady her as she stood on her tiptoes. She stood back and looked back in the direction of the club.

Jughead deflated. “Do you want to go back inside or?”

“Let’s dance!”

Jughead coughed in surprise and dropped his cigarette. “I’m not exactly a great dancer, Veronica.”

She smiled and grabbed his hand. “Oh, pfft, who cares? Everyone is drunk anyway.”

He shrugged and made a noncommittal noise. She rolled her eyes. “We can just dance here.”

Jughead swallowed. “Okay.”

She put her arms around his neck and he rested his hands on her waist. She put her head on his chest. They danced slowly on the balcony of the nightclub. It wasn’t dancing as much as it was glorified swaying. There weren’t many people outside at this stage of the night as the closing time was fast approaching. It almost felt like they were the only two people there. Jughead knew he was being ridiculous. But he couldn’t help it. His thoughts were interrupted by Veronica.

“God I really needed this, did you know apparently Archie and Josie are a thing now.”

“Yeah, I saw them at Pop’s earlier.”

She sighed. “It doesn’t matter I suppose, I’m over it anyway but it would’ve been nice of him to give me a bit of notice.”

Jughead pulled her closer and leaned his chin on her head. She sighed again. She buried her head in his chest. He moved his hand to put it on the small of her back. He could feel her breath, hot on his neck. The smell of her perfume was the only thing he could think of. Chanel. It was so distinctly Veronica. Another set of people disappeared inside and could feel his heartbeat accelerating. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to say it, he assumed it was the beer.

“You look beautiful tonight, Veronica,” he said so softly it was almost a whisper.

Veronica leaned back and made eye contact with him. She opened her mouth to reply but Sweet Pea tapped on Jughead’s shoulder. They sprang apart. She flicked her eyes to Jughead’s lips, so quick that Jughead thought he imagined it. She then turned her attention to Sweet Pea.

“Hey, is there something wrong?”

“Yeah, I just can’t find Fangs,” he slurred.

Jughead put his arm around him. “Okay, let’s go find him.”

They searched for about ten minutes before they found him lip-locked with some guy from Greendale. It took them another few minutes to convince Fangs that they were leaving, during which, Veronica decided to search for Cheryl and Toni. It turned out it was a fruitless search and they started the long walk home with Sweet Pea leaning on Jughead and Fang’s shoulders. Sweet Pea was vividly describing how his ‘talk’ with Liv the bartender had gone as they walked through into the trailer park. Veronica was walking ahead of them, but she turned around to glance every so often to roll her eyes. Unable to properly reply, he smiled back at her.

“Well, boys! I am going to make my way home!” she announced, curtseying and blowing kisses in their direction.

Jughead threw Sweet Pea’s arm from his shoulder, almost causing him to fall. “Hey, Veronica wait! I’ll walk you home.”

She waved him away and continued walking. “That won’t be necessary, I can take care of myself.”

He sped up to catch up with her, ignoring the not so subtle wink from Sweet Pea. He caught her elbow and she turned around to look at him.

“No, I want to.”

She beamed and took his hand. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Veronica got a mischievous glint in her eye.

“You know what I want to do?” Her eyebrow arched in question.

Jughead facepalmed. “Oh God, Veronica what?”

“My parents are out for the night, let’s break into the liquor cabinet!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air as if she had just won a prize.

Jughead rolled his eyes but heard himself agreeing. “You know, that actually sounds kinda fun if I’m being honest.”

She grinned deviously and lead him up the stairs after tiptoeing past the sleeping doorman. The place looked exactly as he remembered from the last time he had tried to make peace with Hiram almost a year and a half ago. He walked in the direction of the kitchen while Veronica busied herself with the alcohol. He had just found the glasses and set them down on the counter when Veronica’s head appeared at the door.

“What’s more expensive, whiskey or brandy?” she asked.

Jughead shrugged. “I have no clue.”

Veronica laughed playfully. “You know what? We’ll just try both.”

She disappeared for a minute and came back with two bottles of Hiram’s finest as she referred to them. She poured a glass of the whiskey for the two of them. She clinked her glass with him.

“To clubbing,” she toasted.

Jughead laughed and brought it up to his lips. They both took a sip and winced at the sharp taste.

“I’m getting notes of Satanism and unhappiness,” Jughead said confidently, pretending to swish it around in his mouth.

“Ah yes, I also taste the pain of the poor and lettuce.”

Jughead snorted. “Lettuce is that all you could think of? Really?”

Veronica punched him in the arm. “Hey! You have an unfair advantage considering you’re a writer and I haven’t gotten anything above a C in English this year.”

They both looked at each other in a serious manner before bursting into laughter. After they had calmed down and Veronica had safely restored the liquor to its rightful place, Veronica decided to give him the grand tour. She had been about to open the door to her room when Jughead decided it was too late for him to be in Veronica’s room.

“You know I should probably go-” Jughead started but he was interrupted by a key in the front door.

Veronica’s eyes widened in surprise and she ushered him toward her room. “You’re going to have to leave through the window, I’m not supposed to have people over while they’re gone,” she half whispered.

Veronica shut her door with a soft click and prayed that they wouldn’t come to see her before going to sleep. To her luck, they passed by her door and the noise disappeared into their room. Veronica breathed a sigh of relief and turned so her back was touching her door.

“Sorry, Jughead I still can’t risk you leaving through the door, they could still catch you.”

Jughead nodded sombrely. “Yeah, I get it. I should get down easily enough. I can use the drainpipe.”

Veronica made his way over to him as he sat on her window ledge. She took his hand.

“I’m really glad you came tonight, Jug.”

“Yeah, me too Veronica,” he told her seriously.

She leaned forward as if to kiss him on the cheek and Jughead closed his eyes. Her breath was hot on his face and Jughead could smell the sharp alcohol still on her breath. She planted an open-mouthed kiss on the corner of his mouth, leaving a faint smudge of dark berry lipstick. She leaned back and they both seemed to snap out of the daydream.

“I’ll see you soon, Veronica,” he said before slipping out of sight and disappearing into the night.

Veronica stood at the window for a moment longer. Why does everything feel weird? She came to the decision that it was probably the alcohol and went to get ready for bed.


End file.
